Jonathan McCoy is eleven years old. 11 years old! Watch the video again – 11 years old! He is obviously an extremely gifted young man, an excellent speaker, and a future leader.
So what can we learn about public speaking from an eleven year old? If the eleven year old is Jonathan McCoy, the answer is plenty.
1. Message/Power of that Message — It is impossible to miss this young man’s message. From beginning to end he stays on message, there is no confusion, no getting “lost in the weeds” or off message, and no question as to what action he wants his audience to take.
2-3. Presence/Poise – He may be physically small, but he casts a very large shadow. His suit fits him perfectly, his outfit matches, and his tie is a great fit with his suit. If he is nervous (and I am sure that he was) it doesn’t show.
4. Body Language – Jonathan is poised, his posture is strong throughout and he begins to use his hand at the 3 minute mark to accentuate points. Jonathan never slouches and never sways — his small movements are deliberate and strong.
5. Eye Contact — Never wavers and never looks down. Excellent.
6. Articulate – Easy to understand every word he says.
7-9. Tone/Tempo/Vocal Variety – Emphasizes key words and points. His tone changes to fit both his words and his message. His pace is very easy to follow and he pauses appropriately as well.
10-11. Opening/closing – Jonathan simply does not allow anyone to tune him out from the start. “Negro, African American, Mahogany, Ebony, Nubian…” Combined with the factors above, the power is incredible! Eleven years old! The power continues throughout, and his closing, “My name is Jonathan Emile McCoy and I approved this message” was great.
An aside – I would not advise putting a song in your speech unless you are an 11 year old wunderkind who can pull it off — the vast majority of individuals, me included, cannot pull it off.
Great job Jonathan – you are a public speaking/messaging role model for children and adults alike!
Thank you to my good friend Ed Kuhn for sending me this clip – Thanks Ed. If you would like to sign Jonathan’s petition, click here.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by matt eventoff. matt eventoff said: 11 public speaking lessons from a 11 year old Jonathan McCoy "End the 'N' Words"….http://tinyurl.com/ydbw5wz [...]
This youngman has the potential of greatness, in his posture, voice, and passion of sincerity. He has the power to influence, which means he has the power to lead. This define a leader a great leader.
Thanks to Ed Kuhn for sending you the link and thanks to you Matt for taking the time to articulate your appreciation of Jonathan’s speech and the “11 Public Speaking Lessons…” This is definitely an article Jonathan can see and will be pleased to do so(see my point below).
We are overwhelmed by the people who support Jonathan’s initiative and their support greatly outweigh opposing views.
Unfortunately a lot of juveniles and juvenile minded individuals keep adding multiple post at a time on each site since he’s been on CNN. Due to their ignorance Jonathan no longer gets to see any post. His dad and I have to inform him of what people are ‘positively’ saying.
There were contrary comments from May until September 30, (with over 800 million views and roughly 4,000 comments) but it was people’s opinions and we allowed them to speak freely unless two people were battling it out and totally got off the subject. It was pretty much adults choosing to disagree and that was ok as long as it didn’t get out of hand.
Once kids (teens/young adults)start posting idiotic post on his original youtube site, comments had to be disallowed.
Nevertheless, he is encouraged and purposes to make his primary appeal to the rap industry and the moguls who fund them; and he’s adamant about it. (See his interviews on CNN September 30 and October 3, 2009)
Jonathan never ceases to amaze us. We are crossing our fingers every time he’s interviewed because we have NO IDEA what he’s going to say. He is EXTREMELY opinionated and purposes to say just what he feels. Our stance is we’ll support him, but we caution him to please not say anything that will amaze us too much.
Thanks again Matt, we appreciate this article.
Linda (and Johnny McCoy)
(Jonathan McCoy’s Parents)
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